[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough of Rutherford Council 6-15-1993 by Ord. No. 2680-93. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alcoholic beverages — See Ch. 7.
Amusement games — See Ch. 8.
Curfew — See Ch. 23.
Littering — See Ch. 53.
Loitering — See Ch. 54.
Noise control — See Ch. 63.
Nuisance Code — See Ch. 64.
Feeding of pigeons — See Ch. 72.
Playgrounds and recreation areas — See Ch. 73.
Poolrooms and bowling alleys — See Ch. 77.
Public amusement structures — See Ch. 79.
Skateboards, bicycles, roller skates and scooters — See Ch. 98.
Solicitors, peddlers and canvassers — See Ch. 105.
Tobacco products — See Ch. 116A.
A. 
The purpose of this chapter is to act as a supplement to the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice (N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 et seq.) and to fill the interstices therein, and all provisions hereof shall be construed accordingly.
B. 
The provisions of this chapter shall be construed so as to protect the peace, order, health, safety, general welfare and good order of the Borough of Rutherford and the inhabitants thereof.
C. 
The provisions of this chapter are adopted pursuant to the powers granted to the Borough of Rutherford by N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 and 40:48-2 and other statutes granting police power to the Borough of Rutherford and shall be construed accordingly.
D. 
Except to the extent specifically set forth herein, neither specific intent nor knowledge shall be construed as elements of any offense defined under the provisions of this chapter.
E. 
In the event that any activity or condition proscribed herein shall be the subject of any other regulation elsewhere in the Borough Code of the Borough of Rutherford, the two sections shall be construed together, and the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be in addition to the regulations otherwise provided and as providing an additional remedy, unless another construction is clearly indicated.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
ACT OF GRAFFITI
The drawing, painting or making of any inscription on a bridge, building, public transportation vehicle, rock, wall, sidewalk, street or other exposed surface on public or private property without the permission of the owner.
[Added 11-15-1994 by Ord. No. 2718-94]
BOROUGH
The Borough of Rutherford.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
A. 
Improper behavior. A person is guilty of a disorderly persons offense if, with a purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he or she:
(1) 
Engages in fighting or threatening, violent or tumultuous behavior; or
(2) 
Creates a hazardous or physically dangerous condition by an act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.
B. 
Offensive language. A person is guilty of a disorderly persons offense if, in a public place and with a purpose to offend the sensibilities of a hearer or in reckless disregard of the probability of so doing, he or she addresses unreasonably loud and offensively coarse or abusive language, given the circumstances of the person present and the setting of the utterance to any person present.
C. 
"Public" means affecting or likely to affect persons in a place to which the public or a substantial group has access; among the places included are highways, transport facilities, schools, apartment houses, places of business or any neighborhood.
No person shall, within the limits of the borough, willfully or maliciously ring or cause to be rung any bell, whistle or other alarm of any fire company or in any other manner give or cause to be given a false alarm of fire, bombing, catastrophe or emergency.
No person shall injure, damage or mutilate at any time or place any fire engine, hook-and-ladder truck hose, hose, ladders, buckets or other apparatus belonging to or under the control of the Fire Department or interfere with the same in any manner, nor shall any person drive a vehicle over any hose or other fire equipment.
A person commits a disorderly persons offense if, with a purpose to harass another, he or she:
A. 
Makes or causes to be made a communication or communications anonymously or at extremely inconvenient hours or in offensive coarse language or any other manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm.
B. 
Subjects another to striking, kicking, shoving or other offensive touching or threatens to do so.
C. 
Engages in any other course of alarming conduct or of repeatedly committed acts with a purpose to alarm or seriously annoy such other person.
A person is guilty of a disorderly persons offense when:
A. 
By conduct, either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all circumstances, he or she knowingly or recklessly creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or health of a considerable number of persons.
B. 
He or she knowingly conducts or maintains any premises, place or resort where persons gather for purposes of engaging in unlawful conduct.
No person shall, within the limits of the borough, hinder or obstruct any borough officer in the performance of his or her duties, nor shall any person willfully refuse or neglect to assist any borough officer when lawfully called upon by said officer so to do in the execution of any process or in the suppression of any breach of the peace or disorderly conduct or in case of an escape or when such officer is resisted in the discharge of his or her duty, nor shall any person knowingly resist or oppose any officer or person authorized by law in serving or attempting to serve any writ, bill, order or process or when making any arrest, with or without a warrant.
No person shall intentionally appear on any road, street, highway or other public place in a state of nudity or make any indecent exposure of his or her person or commit or cause to be committed or participate in the commission of any lewd or indecent act or behavior.
[Added 9-8-1999 by Ord. No. 2910-99]
No person shall, within the limits of the Borough of Rutherford, defecate or urinate upon any street, highway, road, alley, sidewalk, the neighborhood of any store, restaurant, tavern or other place of business, or in any other public place or in any other place open to and used by the public or outdoors upon any private property except in enclosed facilities or structures intended for the carrying out of such excretory acts.
No person shall destroy, injure, deface or tarnish any public building, fence, tree, light post or standard, telephone, telegraph or electric power pole, fire hydrant, monument, statue, flagpole or other public work or improvement or affix thereon any signs, bills or advertisements of any kind or nature whatsoever; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to the posting of such notices as may be required by law.
[Added 4-6-1999 by Ord. No. 2888-99]
Trespassing in the Kip Avenue Parking Garage is hereby prohibited. A person is guilty of trespass if, knowing that he or she is not licensed or privileged to do so, he or she enters or remains in the Kip Avenue Parking Garage as to which notice against said trespass is given by actual communication to the individual or posting in a manner reasonably likely to come to the attention of individuals. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor had license to be in the Kip Avenue Parking Garage because of his or her permitted parking of a motor vehicle within said structure. This affirmative defense shall also apply to passengers of such parked vehicles. This defense shall only apply to motorists and their passengers who park their vehicles in the parking garage for the purpose of conducting business elsewhere.
No person shall within the limits of the borough enter the building or go upon the lands of any school and break, damage or deface such building or any part thereof or the fences or other property belonging to or connected with such building or lands, and no person shall disturb the exercise of any school or molest or give annoyance to the children attending such school or any teacher therein, either while on the school property or while going to or coming from said school.
No person shall discharge any gun, pistol or other firearm or shoot, use or discharge any air gun, beanshooter or slingshot or hunt for game or wild fowl within the borough;[1] provided, however, that this section shall not apply to a police officer or other peace officer in the discharge of his duty; and provided, further, that this section shall not apply to the discharging of firearms in any area designated as a "police pistol range," which said area shall be under the direction and control of the Police Department; and provided, further, that this section shall not apply to the discharging of firearms by a person having a permit procured prior thereto from the Chief of Police for the purpose of destroying pests, animals and birds injurious to public or private property.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 73, Playgrounds and Recreation Areas, § 73-2D.
[Added 11-15-1994 by Ord. No. 2718-94[1]]
A reward not exceeding $500 shall be paid for the detection and apprehension of any person guilty of purposely or knowingly damaging tangible property of another by an act of graffiti occurring in the borough in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3. The reward is to be payable after conviction out of those funds of the municipality made available therefor. The reward shall be paid to any person whom the governing body, acting upon the written recommendation of the Municipal Chief of Police, deems entitled thereto. No reward shall be paid to any public employee whose duty it is to investigate or to enforce the law or to the employee's spouse, child or parent, living in the same household.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering of former § 68-14, Violations and penalties, as § 68-15.
Any person or persons, association, firm or corporation violating any of the terms or provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be liable to pay a fine not exceeding $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days, or both.